ComputerTechMom

These are tough times.  I am a middle class mom living in the Midwest, my friends are mostly the same.  I know the economy is bad, I’ve seen it in my husband’s business and I’ve seen it in my friends who have lost jobs or are looking for work for the first time in twenty years.  In these times it’s more important than ever to watch spending and cut corners wherever possible. 

There has never been a better time to use your computer to save money!  Here are some of my favorite ways to save:

• Coupons: For years, I’ve scoured the web for coupons before making a purchase.  Most recently my family enjoyed dinner at a local restaurant with a $25 gift certificate that I purchased at
  Restaurant.com for $4
• Online bill pay: not only will paying your bills online save you money, it will save you time.  In the past paying bills for me was an entire morning ordeal, now I spend roughly thirty minutes paying the same bills.  This can be money saving in other ways as well, my cell phone company pays me $5 per month to not get a paper bill.  You can pay bills online through most company websites, through your bank or credit union, or through and online bill paying service such as Mycheckfree.com
• Price shopping, services like Mysimon.com will scour the web and show you the best price available for whatever you are looking for including shipping costs.
• Share your email!  Well maybe not your main email but why not create an email account just for savings.  When you give a retailer your email address they will often send coupons and savings not available to everyone.  I created a separate email account just for this.  I check that email and am often rewarded with loyal customer coupons, freebies, and discounts.

Give these ideas a try and before you know it you will be saving more money than you ever thought possible.